East India Company: There was a time when India was dominated by the East India Company. This was the company that paved the way for the British to rule India for almost 200 years. This company was established in England on December 31, 1600 to import spices, tea and unique items from India to Europe. First of all, on 24 August 1608, William Hawkins came to India in the ship of East India Company.
The British had an eye on the spices of India
The sole purpose of the British coming to India was to get permission to do business here because their eyes were on the spices and raw materials here. In Europe, spices were needed to preserve meat in the harsh cold and to increase its usefulness. In the year 1613, Mughal Emperor Jahangir gave permission to the British East India Company to set up a factory in Surat for doing business. By 1690, the company had also established its factory in Calcutta (now known as Kolkata).
politics of division
Gradually the company started establishing its foothold in India. By creating divisions among the kings in India, they also started interfering in the politics here. There came a time when Indians had to take permission from the British for small works in their own country. There was a time when it was said about the British Empire that the sun never sets, but it is also true that it does not take long for the times to change. After ruling for almost 200 years, finally the British were also forced to leave India.
British defeated by revolutionaries
However, in the meantime, in 1857, Indian soldiers stationed in the British Army in Meerut started a rebellion against the British government. The revolt of the revolutionaries gradually had such an impact that the business of the East India Company gradually started decreasing. Due to the rebellion, it was becoming difficult for the company to work in India and the company was not able to export spices from India to Europe.
It was due to the rebellion of 1857 that the company was closed in 1874. After this, this company remained closed for decades for about 131 years, which was bought by Sanjeev Mehta in the year 2005. It was interesting to see that the company which allowed the British to oppress India for years is today headed by an Indian.
Who is Sanjeev Anand?
Sanjeev Mehta was born in October 1961 in a Gujarati Jain family. He inherited his business acumen because his grandfather Gafurchand Mehta had a diamond business in Belgium in the 1920s. His family returned to India in 1938. Sanjeev did his early education from Sydenham College, Mumbai. After this he completed his further studies at IIM Ahmedabad. After this he took admission in the Gemological Institute in Los Angeles, America. By the 1980s, Mehta had started an export business from his home. Of these, ‘Huggie’ hot water bottle brought him his first success.
Bought 21 percent shares in 20 minutes
When the shareholders of the East India Company tried to restart it in 2005, Mehta took advantage of the opportunity. He bought 21 percent shares of the company in 20 minutes. In an interview given to ET in 2016, he had said, I bought the first 21 percent shares of East India Company in 20 minutes. That’s all the time it took for an Indian to start the process of buying a 400-year-old English company.
However, before the 18-month long process of bidding for it began, its history was thoroughly researched in the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mehta had told in an interview to The Times, I did not create the brand, history has created it. I am its trustee and its custodian for the next generation. The special thing is that I am an Indian and I am buying back the same company which once ruled India.
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